Dark Heart Wolf - Haley Weir Page 0,42

it curled its lip into a snarl. It howled towards the sky as if taunting him. He charged just as the wolf did, crashing into the spectral beast. Sam absorbed the spirit into his body and wrestled it down. “Obey me,” he growled, feeling the biting and clawing of the wolf. “I am not your host. I am not your pawn. I am your alpha.” Sam expelled the spirit once more. It lay on his side, whimpering.

He stood over the wolf and dropped to his knees beside it. Wolves didn’t show mercy to their prey. Wolves didn’t choose to lay down and die instead of fight. Sam reared his arm back before shoving his fist through the wolf’s chest. He unclenched his fingers and felt the spirit join with him once more as the wolf faded. The power returned to him, filling him with the unsettling heat in his soul that he knew was the wolf.

Sam ran for the barrier and broke through. The colors returned to the sky and he tore through the dark spirits that fought against his mate. Mary Ann flashed a smile at him. Sam felt as if he could finally breathe. The dark spirits surrounded her, but Mary Ann stood strong. She fought with a viciousness that echoed within his heart. She was perfect. She was...

Mine. Sam’s mind howled the word like it was a prayer to the gods.

He stood in front of her and released a battle cry that shook the mountain.

The spirits retreated into the darkness, bowing before his might. Sam felt Mary Ann’s hand on his arm and closed his eyes. She pulled him close, wrapping her arms around him. “Sam, someone needs to talk to you,” Mary Ann whispered into his ear. “Turn around.”

He shook his head and kissed her neck. “Just one more second. I missed you, sweetheart.”

She chuckled and spun him around, forcing him to look at the center of the flat. Savannah...Savannah stood there with a little girl in her arms. It was his Malia. Mary Ann took his hand and led him over to his family. Sam began to shake all over as the emotions he had concealed within himself surged towards the surface, holding him captive in a maelstrom of guilt and sadness. “You...look the same as I remember.”

"You’ve got a little more gray in your hair, darling,” Savannah said softly.

Sam chuckled, but he could not take his eyes off of Malia. “So beautiful.”

“Yes, she is.” Savannah smiled, but there were shadows in her lovely gaze.

He took a step forward. “What is it?”

“You have to let us go, Sam. We love you, and we miss you, but we will never be at peace so long as you hold on to us,” Savannah said desperately. “You deserve to be happy, Sam. And I think the answer to that happiness is standin’ right next to you. Let us move on…”

Sam felt torn between his past and the present. He wanted to be with his family, but he loved Mary Ann. Loving her while holding on to Savannah and Malia wasn’t fair to either of them. Sam took a deep breath and released Mary Ann’s hand. He reached for his family, and his hand passed right through. The prickle of energy against him felt hollow. Sam looked back at Mary Ann. He knew her smile and her laughter. He knew her warmth, and he knew the passion within her heart. “I love her. You are my yesterday, Savannah. You were the perfect day, one I’ll never forget or regret. Mary Ann is my tomorrow…”

Savannah’s smile reached down inside of Sam and unfurled the knots in his gut. As he released his next breath, the relief nearly brought him to tears. A tiny light sparked in his heart, and Sam allowed himself to let go of his wife and little girl. Malia waved him goodbye with her chubby little hand wrapped around her mother’s finger.

And like the colorful spirits of the ancestors, they faded into the night sky.

Chapter Seventeen

Coven House

Colorado Territory

Ethan sat with his hands in his lap and his eyes closed. Sam Cassady had found peace upon the mountain just as he intended. Ruth, or the creature that wore Ruth’s face, sat beside him. She removed her hand from his shoulder and stood to leave. Ethan grabbed her wrist to stop her. Her eyes flickered over his appearance with a sneer. “You goin’ to tell me who exactly you are?” he snapped. The creature shrugged off his hold with